Barrister Gohar asked Army Chief for one thing, Muneeb Farooq reveals

Political analyst and TV host Muneeb Farooq has revealed details of the recent meeting between Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Gohar Khan and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir. 

Appearing on a private news outlet, Farooq stated that following the formal meeting between the army chief, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur, Barrister Gohar Khan, and other provincial political leaders in Peshawar Corps Commander House, Gohar and Gandapur, requested General Asim Munir for a separate meeting.

The political analyst revealed that the PTI chairman, in a brief meeting, presented a single-point agenda, asking the army chief to facilitate the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan.

“We do not want any kind of confrontation with the military,” Muneeb quoted Gohar as saying. He further revealed that Gohar informed the army chief that many people were eager to see a rift between the PTI and the army.

“During the brief meeting, the army chief did not comment on Imran Khan’s release and the plight of PTI. However, he discussed the security challenges facing Pakistan,” the TV host said.

Fearing that the PTI Chairman would be trolled, Gohar requested two to three times that pictures of the meeting with the army chief should not be released. Gohar's picture was not made public. 

He went on to further reveal that Chairman PTI did not discuss the February 8 elections and the judicial commission regarding the riots of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024 events; the latter is the key demand of the former ruling party that has been submitted to the government negotiation committee on the third round of meetings. 

Earlier, the PTI Chairman denied media reports of his meeting with the army chief. However, taking a U-turn in his statement, Gohar, while speaking to the media in the Adiala Jail courtroom on Thursday, confirmed that, indeed, he had held a meeting with General Syed Asim Munir.

Explaining what had transpired during their rare talk with the COAS, the PTI chairman said that all matters and demands of the party were presented directly to General Asim Munir.

He termed direct negotiations with the establishment as a positive step towards resolving the ongoing issues. Barrister Gohar further said: “Ali Amin Gandapur and I held a meeting with COAS, during which we outlined all of PTI’s concerns and priorities.”

Imran Khan confirmed to reporters that Gohar had met the army chief in Peshawar on Thursday. Khan mentioned that his party had long been trying to get the other side on the negotiation table.